Goodbye
by Izzu
Summary: 48. Saying goodbyes was hard. So why don't we just do away with it?


az: Haha. I think I know why I rarely get emotional in real life. Because I always ended up 'wasting' my tears channelling my characters while writing them _being_ sad. Hope this piece would affect everyone reading this as much as I did, writing this.

As usual, reviews are appreciated. (More like... pretty please? Haha!)

* * *

><p><span>Goodbye<span>

Written by Izzu

o

o

_"Don't interfere with that and shut up about it..."  
><em>  
>Hina continued staring at Ankh.<p>

Why must he be keeping everything to himself? Why must he be the only one taking all the burden? Why did he not want to seek help to save himself? Surely... somehow, there must be a way to save Ankh...

So why Ankh...?

"Oi."

Hina jumped. Ankh was glaring at her hotly.

"If you don't want to eat that, I'll eat it myself!"

Hina blinked as she jerked her own ice cream away. "Not a chance!" she cried out before taking a big bite on it. "But I won't mind if you want to try tasting it a bit."

Ankh looked at her cautiously before taking a small bite from her ice cream. "Is it nice?" she asked as Ankh nodded before resuming to eat his own ice cream. Hina smiled.

xxx

_"Ne, Ankh... is there a reason to make you come back again?"  
><em>  
>A part of him was scared that the answer would turn out to be something he would dread. But Ankh seemed to already made up his mind about his decision and that was good. Frankly the whole thing about having to fight Ankh as an enemy pained him. Ankh had been with him for a long time—a year, but still a long time—and they had been so close to each other. He hated to have to really consider him as an enemy... the mere thought of destroying Ankh, <em>hurt.<br>_  
>That was why, earlier at the beach... when Ankh had missed in attacking him, when Ankh had stopped Maki from trying to kill him; Eiji had been hoping that Ankh would return to his side. But when he woke up, there was no Ankh. Just Kougami. The thought that Ankh might have abandoned him was painful. To think he would be fighting alone by himself...<p>

That was why he became desperate. And then Ankh finally came...

It was all that he could have hoped for.

xxx

"_Eiji! Use this!"  
><em>  
>He thought it was like the usual battles they had in the past. Until he realised that Shingo's body had lain collapsed at the other corner of the site. He could not surpress the alarm he felt when he look down and realised that Ankh had given him his personal core for him to use. Even worse when he saw that the core was cracked. Or was it? His eyes seemed to be playing a trick on him.<p>

Does this mean that Ankh would rather allow him to continue fighting as OOO than letting him use the core's powers as a Greeed?

Funny to think he used to be so afraid at the thought of becoming a Greeed. And then as if that thought disappeared after that. He thought it should be fine... if he turned into a Greeed in the process. He told Ankh that time as well. But now...? Even Ankh was telling him that _he should not let himself becoming a Greeed.  
><em>  
>But what of this? Does this means that Ankh would rather sacrifice himself rather than <em>him<em> doing it? No... he should not be thinking it like that. Ankh should be fine... after this battle...

"I understand."

He really did... _this time.  
><em>  
>"If this... was what you wanted to do, I guess it was what you really wanted to do."<p>

He would not ignore Ankh's wishes then. Since he had gone this far, just to do this...

Eiji carefully inserted the three cores inside the OOO driver.

"Ankh... let's go."

xxx

He was falling. Well, it was finally over. Ankh was gone... and so will he. There was no regret.

It was more like... he had no regrets.

No more...

"**Eiji! Open your eyes! Did you want to die?"  
><strong>  
>Eiji opened his eyes to see Ankh's right arm just slapping his face to put some sense into him. Eh? He was still around? But didn't just now...?<p>

"Ankh?"

"Ah... it's okay. I don't think there's anything else I could do now... And you also..."

"**I'll be fine. I've got what I wanted."  
><strong>  
>Already got? What did that meant?<p>

"You mean Life, right? But if you die..."

**"That's right. You guys thought even a pile of medals like me could die. I could not find anything else more satisfying than that."  
><strong>  
>Eiji felt as if his heart about to be torn to pieces. What did Ankh mean that he was <em>satisfied<em>? If Ankh died... that would mean... he would lose Ankh forever. How could he...

**"Choosing you… ended up going well for me, after all. Don't be mistaken about that!"  
><strong>  
>Ankh started going away from him. Alarms started flashing inside of his head...<p>

"Oi! Where are you going?" _Don't go away from me! I needed you! I still needed... Ankh!  
><em>  
>Eiji turned his body around as he tried to reach out to Ankh. Before Ankh could slip away from his reach. Before...<p>

"**This hand… is no longer the hand you needed to reach out for."  
><strong>  
>Ankh disappeared as soon as those words has been said. Just as Eiji about to grab on him... but he <em>did<em> get something...

Eiji's heart started racing as he slowly opened his right palm. Just as he thought... the thing that he managed to capture... it was... one of the broken pieces of Ankh's hawk core. This time... he really saw it. It was no illusion. The core... _this_ core... was really broken...

Tears started welling in his eyes as Eiji's hand shook. If just now was not a dream...

"ANKH!"

_Why don't you give me a reply? You're still in there... right? Answer me... Ankh!  
><em>  
>xxx<p>

"_**Hina..."  
><strong>_  
>Hina gasped as she thought she heard Ankh calling on her. She looked up to the sky as she thought she saw something sparkling, falling from the sky. She immediately ran towards the place where that thing seemed to have fallen to.<p>

xxx

Hina ran as fast as she could... until she saw Ankh standing before her, waiting for her. Ankh did not say anything, just standing there... watching her. Hina felt her heart beating faster, did something happened to him earlier? And Eiji... didn't that big floating thing exploded earlier? Where was Eiji...

Ankh kept staring at her... did he seemed to be looking even frail than before? Ankh slowly smiled... did he just looked even kinder than he used to be? Ah! What was that? Ankh seemed as if he was about to say something...

Without warning, Ankh's body started to disappear... leaving something small behind as it fell unto the ground. Hina slowly walked towards it... and bowed down to pick it up.

It was half of a piece of a hawk core medal. Ankh's.

"_**Once a core breaks, that core medal would disappear. The same... should be said about me."  
><strong>_  
>The core finally broke. It really broke. Just like Ankh said it would. But... even when it had broke...<p>

_It did not disappear...  
><em>  
>This broken core <em>did not<em> disappear. And Ankh...

Hina held the broken core close to her heart. He was still _here_. She could still feel him... in her heart. Ankh did not disappear...

He did not... as she had hoped he would.

"Ankh..."

"... thank you."

For not disappearing. For remaining here still. For waiting for her... right here...

This was not a goodbye...


End file.
